House debating higher ed funding

The House has convened and passed the first two bills on its 3rd Reading calendar, HB 545a on habitual truancy, and HB 493a, the education “mastery” bill as amended in the Senate. Now they’re debating the higher ed budget, SB 1419. Rep. Shirley Ringo, D-Moscow, told the House she sees the furloughs and pay cuts that university employees would have to take under the bill as a form of tax increase - and says it should have been spread more broadly. Rep. Grant Burgoyne, D-Boise, said, “I think this budget will have negative ripple effects through the economy.”